budgets can be transformative you know what happens on budget day every indian becomes an economist investments deficit disinvestment you'll hear a lot of those big words being thrown around but at the end of the day two things matter what worked and what did not this union budget was no different in that respect we've identified six things that worked this year number one is the focus on new sectors mental health gaming animation usually these things never make it to the budget this year they did india is setting up a special task force to harness gaming and animation how to build domestic capacity what does the market need this task force will discuss all of that not only is this a new money spinning sector it is also something that the youth understand something they're good at number two the green push around 19 500 crores have been allocated for making solar modules not directly but as incentives the government has also announced a green bond and a national battery swapping scheme it's like a green pivot in the budget india wants to be carbon neutral by 2070 and for that the budget must reflect green ambitions number three self-sufficiency in defense again very important until now india has been a buyer in the defense market self-sufficiency is the first step towards becoming a seller first you supply your own army and then you sell abroad by doing this indian could save money and gain strategic edge number four a neighborhood outreach we rarely talk about this aspect of the budget overall the indian foreign ministry has been given 17 000 crore rupees out of this aid is dispersed to multiple countries 2200 crores for bhutan 200 crores for afghanistan 300 for bangladesh 750 for nepal 360 for the maldives and 600 crores for myanmar these donations reaffirm india's commitment to south asia remember afghanistan has a taliban government now myanmar has a military junta yet both countries are getting aid from india what does this today tell you that india's commitment is to the people not the regimes number five a red carpet for international universities india is inviting them to set up campuses in gujarat what will they teach financial management fintech science and technology engineering what is special about these universities domestic regulations will not apply to them they will follow international norms and standards it means more opportunities for the youth more skilled labor for the indian economy number six a targeted budget approach now this is more of a cultural change you could say just think about budgets of the past what do you remember about them a dozen populist schemes massive allocations and incomprehensible numbers this year it was different the focus was not on big ticket projects the focus was on direction a road map to becoming a five trillion dollar economy in the past that was not the case we considered the budget to be a financial silver bullet announced projects allocate money and implement them for the rest of the year but times have changed today most of the work is done outside the budget the government lays out the direction the economy follows that's what happens in most countries take startups for instance they're emerging as the new engines of india's growth today the government offered them new tax benefits if your startup is incorporated before march 2023 you will get 100 tax rebate for three years earlier the eligibility was until march 2021 it has now been extended plus the credit line for small enterprises has been expanded in total five lakh crore is available for such firms so broadly speaking this budget focuses on two things stability and new frontiers we are tentatively emerging from a pandemic so tinkering too much would have been counterproductive like major tax upheavals or massive spending programs the key now is stability because remember growth is a marathon not a sprint at the same time the budget reflects the new india there was focus on games animation mental health climate change these are programs for the future you won't see dividends today or tomorrow it's about investing both money and patience does that mean this was a perfect budget of course not a perfect budget does not exist some will cheer it some will criticize it for instance you could argue that there is little relief for the middle class around 85 percent of india's working population suffered financially during the pandemic they could have used a tax cut also disinvestment in the last budget the target was 1.75 lakh crores this year 65 000 crores is this a case of setting realistic expectations or a larger pivot in policy we'll have to wait for those answers like i said no budget is perfect it's all about your expectations your current economic atmosphere and your overall political direction in that sense this budget does the job it provides stability today plus sets the foundation for tomorrow both the prime minister and the finance minister made that clear you believe it more infrastructure more investment foreign foreign this year marks the 75th year of india's independence the budget is a blueprint for the next 25 years what india will look like at 100 years boy of independence it's a delicate balance whether it'll work or not only time as they say will tell veon is now available in your country download the app now and get all the news on the move
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